Tennessee man 'threatens daughter with knife' after she tells him she's lesbian

A man was held in custody for allegedly threatening his daughter with a knife after she told him she was a lesbian, police in Tennessee said. Ike Wright is also believed to have waved the knife at his son and his daughter's girlfriend during the altercation.

Police said Wright was "angry and agitated" when they spoke with him and "ranted about his daughter being a lesbian throughout the interaction". He admitted to having possessed a knife and the weapon was found in the accused's kitchen.

Police said that Wright was intoxicated during the incident and arrested him on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Wright allegedly waved the knife at each of the three victims in "separate threatening actions".

Chris Sanders, executive director of the Tennessee Equality Project, responded to the incident by saying that there was "much work to do in the area of family acceptance in Tennessee".

In January a group of parents in Tennessee targeted an LGBT rights club introduced at a local high school, comparing it to the Islamic State (Isis/Daesh) terror group. Parents called on school authorities to resign for allowing it to take place and urged people to attend the next school board meeting to "protect traditional marriage".

The Gay-Straight Alliance was introduced at Franklin County High School as an extracurricular club for students, attempting to "offer a space where LGBT students and their allies can speak freely and honestly with their peers about issues specific to LGBT students without fear of rejection and harassment". However, parent John Wimley started a Facebook group calling to "move the club off publicly funded property". More than 400 people have joined the group.